Sacré
by Everystep
Summary: On the one hand, at least she wasn't crazy. On the other, however…there were two highly dangerous creatures living in close proximity to her apartment. And one of them wanted her dead. Lavi x Lenalee x Kanda triangle, AU. Up for adoption. I don't own DGM!
1. The Doctor, the Nurse, and the Bartender

**This was written in the midst of a True Blood blood obsession...so if there are any similarities...this is why haha.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own DGM!  
**

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**Chapter One**

"One more stop," Lenalee Lee breathed to herself, wringing her hands nervously in her lap and staring at the blur of rich golden trees outside of the train window. The further the train pulled her from civilization the more violently her stomach churned; after twenty-six years of living in one of California's busiest areas this change of scenery was hardly easy to adapt to. Lenalee thought that the lack of buildings and congested roads would make her feel less trapped, but just after mere hours sitting in a booth by herself and watching the passing towns grow smaller and scarcer she found herself feeling exactly the opposite. Stripped of all distractions that normally plagued her, Lenalee had nothing else to concentrate on except her own self, and this was a very uncomfortable feeling.

_Maybe this was a bad idea…_she thought to herself for the hundredth time that day, wondering why she couldn't have been satisfied with the internship she had been offered back in San Francisco. The hospitals in that area had no shortage of ravenous new doctors looking for jobs, and she was beyond lucky to have secured a position for herself. But Lenalee felt weighed down, exhausted by the time that always seemed to pass so quickly around her. If she'd already begun to wear down before her life as a working woman even began how could she hope to make it through her residency? And her entire career?

The scenery began to come into sharper focus as the train slowed, eventually whining to a stop. Lenalee stood up, her legs trembling slightly as her unused muscles extended for the first time in the hours she had sat in unintentional rigidity. Her heart pounded in her ears as she grabbed her luggage from the overhead bin and clumsily dragged it off onto the platform. She shivered as the cold air bit her pale skin, her lightweight white blouse tucked into black dress trousers wrinkled from hours of travel immediately gave her away as someone not used to an actual change of seasons.

After scanning the crowd for a moment for her escort into town Lenalee's eyes rested on a man who, although appearing no older than her, had very pale whitish hair hanging in layers around his forehead. He held up a sign donning her name, his large, grey eyes engaged in a warm smile. Lenalee noticed that he had a thin, red mark beginning on his left cheek and tracing itself over his eye before ending in a strange star pattern on his forehead. _What an oddly shaped scar,_ she thought to herself, wondering what type of injury could possibly leave such a distinct impression. She walked towards the man, some of her nervousness easing as he noticed her. She liked him already.

"Dr. Lee, I take it?" he asked, extending his hand. Lenalee nodded, fumbling to place her luggage down before returning the handshake. "My name is Allen Walker," the man said, placing the sign under his arm and grabbing two of her suitcases. "Welcome to Maine!"

"Thank you," Lenalee replied, following Allen as he led her out of the train station and into a small parking lot. He stopped in front of a large SUV, carefully placing Lenalee's luggage into the trunk before opening the door for her. Lenalee winced as she climbed into the oversized vehicle, still not completely devoid of her San Francisco values. However, she supposed that it wouldn't do the locals much good to drive a small Prius over such rugged territory. And, she reminded herself, this small town surrounding the train station was much more developed than where she was headed.

Lenalee glanced at herself in the side view mirror, dismayed to find her dark, shoulder length hair sporting an awkward wave from where she had tied it back earlier that day. Her face looked tired; the makeup framing her deep, almost blackish-brown eyes beginning to smudge. She frowned, rolling her hair tie off of her wrist and quickly spinning her hair into a makeshift bun. Allen pretended not to notice her efforts, instead making pleasant conversation as he navigated the narrow roads out of the town.

"I'll be working with you as a nurse in the clinic," he explained, much to Lenalee's delight. "I used to work as a travel nurse, but I loved it so much in Sacré that I decided to stay."

"That's great," she replied. "I hope that I'll have a similar experience."

"What brought you out here, if you don't mind my asking?" Allen inquired, glancing over at her briefly.

"I don't mind," Lenalee answered, shrugging. "I suppose I just wanted a change of pace…I got tired of living in the city for so long. I thought it'd be nice to take a break from all that."

"You're from San Francisco, right?"

"Yes," Lenalee said, nodding. "I grew up there…I did my undergrad at Berkeley and went to med school at UCSF."

"Impressive," Allen said. Lenalee rolled her eyes, a reflex from years of similar reactions from, well, everyone she met.

"Sorry," chuckled Allen. "You probably get that all the time. But get used to it…the people out here aren't used to such a prestigious background."

Lenalee blushed, ashamed at her impolite response.

"Well," Allen continued, "everyone's really excited to have you. After Dr. Delaney decided to quit the county was just beside itself wondering how we'd ever get someone to fill his position."

"Why did he quit?"

Allen frowned. "No one really knows…I went in to work one day and he was just…gone. He left a note, but it really didn't give us any reasons why."

"Hmm." Lenalee sat quietly to herself, digesting what Allen had just told her about the previous doctor's hasty withdrawal from the program. She wondered if she'd have a similar fate; could she handle such a drastic change to her way of life? Her overly concerned elder brother certainly didn't seem to think so at first, although Komui did change his tune once she let him know she was serious about accepting the offer to be the sole health care provider for a tiny population in northern Maine.

"Shit!" she suddenly burst out, furiously digging through her purse for her cell phone. "I was supposed to call him…"

"Huh?" Allen responded, his brow furrowed in concern. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes," Lenalee sighed, pulling out her Blackberry and checking the screen, dismayed to find three missed calls and six new text messages. "I just promised my brother I'd give him a ring once I got off the plane…he's probably called the police by now," she groaned, holding the phone every which way to see if she could get reception.

"I see…well, good luck with that," Allen laughed.

"Do you have any siblings?"

Allen shook his head. "No…well, actually, I'm not sure," he admitted. "I never actually knew my biological parents…I was adopted at a young age. But my adoptive father was great…"

"Was?" Lenalee asked, crossing her legs and turning towards Allen.

"He passed away some time ago."

"I'm sorry," Lenalee said quietly, shifting her body back to face forward.

"Don't be," Allen replied, smiling as sincerely as ever. "He wouldn't have wanted it to get me down. All I can really do is keep going forward," he said, shrugging casually.

"I suppose you're right."

Allen and Lenalee sat in comfortable silence for a while as the paved road tapered off into a makeshift dirt path through the forest.

"Let me know of you feel sick," Allen warned as the ride grew increasingly turbulent.

Lenalee nodded, keeping her jaw clenched as she stared straight ahead. Normally her stomach could take much more than this, but after hours of planes and trains it had taken just about all it could handle. Luckily the ride didn't last for very long; after about twenty minutes dark brown houses and small stores started appearing amongst the increasingly dense forest. Overcome with a sudden wave of energy, Lenalee perked up, straightening her posture and leaning against the window to get a better look at the town.

They seemed to be following the main road, as it looked a bit better maintained than the small streets branching off on either side and disappearing into the trees. Allen pointed out various establishments that might be useful to Lenalee; the general store with a pharmacy and hardware section, the post office, the Sacré town hall, and, finally, the clinic where she would spend most of her time. It didn't stand out much from the other buildings in the area; constructed out of chocolate brown wood and perched atop a porch that seemed to encircle around to the back. Lenalee rolled down the window and leaned out, trying to get a better look inside. She let her eyes travel up to the roof, surprised to see what looked like a small cluster of apartments in the second story.

"We're stopping?" she asked, suddenly aware that Allen was turning the car off and unbuckling his seat belt.

"Yeah," he nodded, hopping out onto the ground and jogging around to open the door for her before she had a chance to do it herself. "Do you see those windows up there?" he asked, pointing to the apartments Lenalee had noticed earlier. "That's your new home," he explained, smiling. "I'm just next door."

Lenalee brought her hand to her mouth, staring in stunned silence. The program promised to provide her with housing, but this was better than she could have imagined. _I'll never have to take public transportation to get to work again! _she thought, thrilled that her days of waiting for busses in less than favorable weather at less than favorable hours of the day (or night) had finally come to an end.

"It's perfect!" she exclaimed, turning to Allen and trapping him in a hug.

"I-I'm glad you like it," he laughed nervously, hesitantly patting her on the back. "Shall we?" he asked once she'd freed him, reaching into his pocket and tossing Lenalee a set of keys.

Lenalee followed Allen around the porch to a side door, in front of which he stopped and gestured towards the doorknob.

"Go ahead."

Lenalee fidgeted with her keys, taking a few seconds to correctly slide the key into the lock and turn it open, revealing a narrow staircase leading up to what she assumed could only be the door to her apartment.

"That's yours," Allen said, pointing to the door closest to the staircase once they'd reached the top, "and that one's mine," he said, nodding towards the only other door in the small hallway. "Go on inside; I'll bring your luggage up," he offered, already halfway out the door before Lenalee could argue.

Lenalee opened the door, _her_ door, and stepped into her apartment for the first time. The air inside seemed clean and untouched; as if someone had left a window open by mistake. She flipped on the light, looking around at the modest furnishings the program had provided her with. Everything seemed to match the air; sharp and cold. A small, light colored table sat in the center of her small kitchen, surrounded by a few matching chairs. She ran her hand over the top as she examined the barren countertops, still able to detect the lingering smell of packing materials. She'd been supplied with (somewhat dated) essentials; a microwave, toaster, oven, and refrigerator. _No dishwasher,_ she thought with a sigh, mentally taking note that she'd have to buy a drying rack.

The kitchen segued into a tiny living room, complete with a white couch and glass coffee table. Lenalee cringed, already thinking of how often she'd be forced to bleach stains out of the snowy fabric. However, she was pleasantly surprised to find a television resting against the far wall. A crowded bathroom with a shower stood off to the side, which meant that the only door left in the apartment had to be her bedroom. Upon inspection it proved to be nothing fancy; just a plainly dressed queen-sized bed with a small wooden nightstand and a crisp white dresser. There was, however, a rather sizeable closet, which would easily accommodate all of her clothes and shoes. Although, she thought rather bitterly, she probably wouldn't be using about seventy-five percent of them during these colder months.

"Lenalee?" Allen called, gently knocking on her open front door. "I've got all of your suitcases."

"Thank you!" answered Lenalee, running to greet him.

"It's no problem at all," he assured her, casually waving his hand. "I'll leave you to unpack…let me know if you need anything."

"Okay…oh! Are there any good places to go for dinner?" she added almost as an afterthought, remembering that while she did have a functioning refrigerator, it was completely empty.

"Sure! Well, there's really only one place," he said thoughtfully, "but they have great food there…" Allen paused for a moment, gazing blankly into the distance.

"Allen?"

"Sorry," he said, regaining his focus. "The place is called Spencer's Bar and Grill. There's no way you can miss it…just follow the main road back the way we came. There's a key to the SUV on your ring."

Lenalee glanced down at her keys, surprised that she didn't notice it before. "Oh! Thanks, but I think I'll just walk…it's not that far, is it?"

Allen sighed, shaking his head. "No…but you'd be better off taking the car. Lately there've been…" he stopped, letting his eyes fall to the floor.

"Lately there've been…what?"

"Nothing," responded Allen, quickly regaining his cheerful energy. "It's just cold out right now! Just take my word for it," he said with feigned casualty.

"…All right then," said Lenalee, forcing herself not to press Allen further. She'd find out whatever was going on in town soon enough, she told herself.

"Don't forget to call your brother," Allen reminded her on his way out the door.

"Shit!"

--

Spencer's Bar and Grill was exactly how Lenalee had imagined it to be. The place was warm and lively; Lenalee couldn't quite place where all of the people had come from. There were a few booths and tables off to one side, while the other contained a pool table and what looked to be a fully stocked bar.

As soon as Lenalee opened the door a young waitress stuffed into tight fitting jeans and a plain white shirt greeted her. "Just one?" she asked, a hint of some sort of accent barely detectable. Lenalee nodded. "Is a seat at the bar okay?" the waitress asked, to which Lenalee again nodded (perhaps a bit too enthusiastically).

"The bar would be perfect," she answered, especially after spending an hour trying to assure her brother that she hadn't been abducted, arrested, injured, or anything else that would have kept her from calling him the moment she'd stepped off the plane.

Once she'd sat down Lenalee turned around on her barstool, taking in all the other diners. She didn't understand why Allen had been so opposed to her walking here; the only other guests seemed to be families with young children and elderly couples. Perhaps he really was just concerned about the cold.

"I haven't seen you here before," someone said over her shoulder, making no effort to hide the amusement in his voice. Lenalee spun around to see the bartender leaning over the bar and staring back at her. She jumped, his face much closer to hers than she'd anticipated. "I didn't mean to scare you," he said, laughing at her reaction. "Can I start you off with a drink?"

"J-just a glass of Merlot," she said, watching the bartender as he nodded and pulled out a bottle of wine. He had the reddest hair she had ever seen; it seemed to blaze even under the soft lights that illuminated the bar. A light green headband worn across his forehead accentuated it even more, although the colors didn't clash as horribly as Lenalee might have thought. In fact, it seemed to bring out the bright emerald color of his left eye. _I wonder what happened to his other one_, she wondered, noticing a black patch covering his right. Although, she noted, the fact that he only had one eye visible didn't keep him from showing more expression than most people with two perfectly functioning eyes could.

"My name's Lavi," he said with a somewhat sideways smile as he placed the glass of wine down in front of her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Lenalee."

"Really," Lavi said, leaning over the bar. "You wouldn't happen to be that new doctor, would you? Because she's supposedly named Lenalee too, and that's not exactly the most common name."

"Well, neither is Lavi," Lenalee replied, beginning to lean across the bar a bit herself. "And yes, I am." She couldn't quite place it, but something about Lavi seemed to draw her in. He was definitely very attractive in an unconventional, rebellious sort of way, but that wasn't it, although it certainly didn't help.

"So it is you!" Lavi exclaimed, drying off a glass with a dishtowel. "You must know what that means, then."

Lenalee took a sip of wine. "I'm not sure that I do."

"It means that the next drink is on me."

"That's very kind of you," said Lenalee, a little disappointed to have to reject his offer, "but I'm afraid this will be my only glass…I'm driving home tonight."

"Well, in that case I'll just have to give you a ride," replied Lavi, grinning.

Lenalee ran her finger down the stem of the wine glass. "I'll think about it," she teased, although she had no intention of following through.

Two glasses of wine later; however, this was not the case. Lavi proved to be excellent company, and as the restaurant began to empty out of all its customers she was able to command much more of his attention. He explained how he'd come to take over ownership of the bar after his wealthy grandfather, fed up with his habitual laziness and dead-end trysts with similarly minded heiresses, forced him to get a degree and live on his own.

"It was probably the best thing that ever happened to me," he admitted, clearing away Lenalee's empty dishes. "If I hadn't gone to school I never would have come out here to run this place. And I never would have met such a cute doctor."

Lenalee rolled her eyes; even after three glasses of wine she was smart enough not to be swept off her feet by a man she'd just met; although, she couldn't deny that she liked the attention.

"Who are they?" she asked, lowering her voice as two men walked into the bar. They looked different from the harmless clientele that she'd observed earlier; they seemed less carefree, more calculated; almost sinister.

"The taller one's Tyki," Lavi answered, resting an elbow on the bar. Tyki looked slightly more relaxed than the other; he ran his hand back through his wavy, almost-black hair, causing it to fall gracefully over his very light hazel eyes as it resettled. His skin seemed to glow under the lighting in the bar; it shone the sort of bronze color that celebrities always seemed to try to mimic but never quite achieve. He smiled in Lenalee's direction, nudging his companion and alerting him to her presence. His smile seemed cold as opposed to the heat in the rest of his features; Lenalee shivered despite the warmth of the alcohol circulating through her body.

"And the other one…?" she asked, turning her attention to the shorter of the two. His skin looked pale and icy, especially when compared to that of his friend. His narrow, grey eyes darted to look at Lenalee from underneath choppy black bangs, and, although shifting uncomfortably in her chair, she found herself unable to break eye contact. His eyes seemed to widen a bit, softening the severity of the rest of his sharp features. He quickly turned his head away, causing the long, black hair he had tied into a high ponytail to sway slightly before falling neatly into place.

"Ah," Lavi mused, his sideways grin creeping back onto his face, "that one's YUU," he said much more loudly than necessary, causing the shorter man to whip his head around to face Lavi.

"It's Kanda," he hissed, his lip curling in disgust. Even his voice sounded sharp and directed, Lenalee thought, her ears resonating with the way the syllables snapped when he said his name. "I've told you that many times now."

"Sorry, sorry," Lavi sighed, although the traces of a smirk were still apparent on his face. "Tyki, _Kanda_," he said, over exaggerating the latter name, "this is Lenalee. She's the new doctor here," he explained. Lenalee nodded at them, the bold attitude she'd been sporting earlier completely gone. Her eyes followed Kanda as he took a seat at the bar.

"Is that so?" Tyki said, his voice laced with boredom. He sauntered over to the pool table, picking up the cue and running it through his fingers before taking aim and shooting.

"Yuu," Lavi said, ignoring Kanda's deepening scowl, "aren't you going to say hello to the doctor?"

Lenalee ran her finger nervously around the rim of the now empty wine glass, glancing to the side to see if Kanda would respond.

Kanda sighed, shooting a nasty look at Lavi before just barely tilting his head in Lenalee's direction.

"It's nice to meet you," Lenalee said quickly, pouncing on the chance to engage in conversation. She extended her hand, leaving it suspended for what seemed like impossibly long seconds before Kanda returned the gesture. His skin felt exactly the same as it looked; but cold couldn't even begin to describe it. It felt devoid of all traces of warmth, and even as Lenalee unintentionally tightened her grip she couldn't detect any change in temperature.

Kanda mumbled something incoherent as he retracted his hand, folding it into a tight fist before gently placing it into his jacket pocket. "…Tyki," he said, his tone soft but powerful, "have you had enough?"

"But we've only just got here," Tyki argued, crossing his arms and leaning back against the pool table.

"Stay, then," Kanda snapped, standing up and striding towards the door.

"Wait, wait…" Tyki sighed, setting down the pool cue and jogging after him. "You're no fun at all…"

Lavi and Lenalee both stared at the exit for a moment before resuming conversation.

"That was strange," Lenalee remarked.

"You're telling me," Lavi scoffed, putting away the last of the dishes. "I've never seen him so worked up before."

"Who?"

"Kanda," replied Lavi. "I think he likes you," he teased.

Lenalee rolled her eyes, standing up to put on her coat as Lavi began to switch off the lights.

"Not exactly the best way to end your first night here," he said as he guided Lenalee to his car.

She shrugged and flexed her fingers inside of her pocket, her hand still burning from where Kanda's skin made contact with her own.

"I wouldn't say so."

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I'm told by freetranslation(dot)com that sacré means sacred in French...so hopefully that was accurate. They've never failed me in all my years of taking Spanish, at least XD

Well...I hope you enjoyed! Please drop a review to let me know how I'm doing :3


	2. That's Way Too Big For A Spider

Thank you to all who reviewed! I love hearing your feedback :)

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM

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**Chapter 2: That's Way Too Big For A Spider**

"No, no, no," Lenalee groaned as her hand flailed out from beneath the warmth of her covers to swat at her alarm. The seven hours of sleep she'd just woken up from would have easily sufficed in any other situation, but between being jet lagged and being slightly hung-over they proved painfully inadequate. She dragged herself out of bed, shivering as she rummaged through her still unpacked suitcases for a pair of lightweight, forest green scrubs, hoping they would be acceptable attire. After quickly washing off last night's makeup and digging up a granola bar in her purse that would have to serve as breakfast she descended down the staircase and jogged through the cold morning air to arrive at the front doors of the clinic.

Without thinking she tried the door, and upon finding it unlocked she cautiously stepped inside and looked around.

The front door led to a small waiting area with a few chairs and a reception desk, fully equipped with a few dated magazines and old children's toys. Lenalee leaned over the desk, trying to peer back into the hallway behind the waiting room and wondering where exactly she was supposed to go.

"Good morning!"

Lenalee jumped, nearly toppling forward over the desk. She gathered herself as best she could, glancing from side to side in an attempt to find the speaker.

"I didn't mean to scare you," Allen apologized from beside her, laughing and scratching the back of his head, "but I'm glad you found your way in. Want me to show you around?"

Lenalee nodded, relieved to see that he was dressed similarly to her: in a pair of plain gray-blue scrubs. Already feeling confident about her first day at work, she followed him through a door leading out of the waiting room and into the hallway behind the reception area.

"We have one exam room and one room for emergency care," Allen explained, pointing to two doors on the right, "and then back there are a few beds for people who might need to stay overnight…but usually if someone needs to stay longer than a couple days or needs really extensive care we just stabilize them until they get airlifted out of here."

"I see." Lenalee scanned the rooms as Allen pointed them out, trying to memorize their various uses and locations.

"Our facilities are probably a lot less than what you're used to," Allen said a bit apologetically, glancing back at Lenalee as he showed her into the medicine room. "But we get by pretty well."

"I'm sure I'll adapt," Lenalee assured him, more eager than ever to jump into work now that she'd had a proper tour of the place.

"Oh, and before I forget, that room back there is your office."

Lenalee's eyes widened. "I get an office?"

"Where else would you do all of your paperwork?" Allen joked, trailing after her as she ran over to investigate.

The office was small and bland, with a dusty desk and chair sitting next to an equally dusty file cabinet. However, it did have a window that let in a considerable amount of the soft morning light.

"This'll be great," Lenalee said, running her finger across the dusty surface of the desk. "Especially after it's clean."

"I'm glad you like it. If you come back out I have just one more room to show you…"

"Sure."

Allen walked to a dingy, closed door near the end of the hallway adorned with a bright red biohazard sign. "This is our lab," he explained somewhat hesitantly. "We do have a lab tech on duty…but he's a bit…eccentric."

"Oh? Eccentric…how?" Lenalee asked, curious as to what sort of strange people she could possibly be in store to meet.

"Well…he's a microbiologist conducting some sort of independent research. We agreed to let him use our facilities as long as he agreed to run lab samples for us in return. He's…well…you'll see."

Lenalee just smiled and nodded; she got the impression that Allen didn't exactly want to talk about this mysterious lab technician in depth.

"Normally we run from nine to five, although if there's an emergency of course we'll respond," continued Allen, changing the subject as he walked back toward the reception area. "We'll usually arrive at eight to set everything up, but today I had you come a half hour early so I could show you around. Is that all right?"

"Are you kidding? That's great…I can't tell you how glad I am to be free from working night shifts and early mornings…"

"I just hope you don't get _too_ bored," chuckled Allen.

Lenalee shrugged. "I guess we'll see…"

Their conversation was interrupted, however, by a loud _crash_ coming from the reception desk.

"Sorry…"

Lenalee jogged the rest of the length of the hallway, surprised to see a tall, slender woman hastily picking up the contents of a basket of office supplies that had fallen to the floor and rearranging them messily on the desk. The woman had wavy brown shoulder length hair that fell haphazardly around her dark, tired eyes; she straightened the simple gray dress she wore before standing and turning around slowly to face Allen and Lenalee.

"Oh!" she cried, jumping back slightly in surprise.

"Miranda," Allen said, gently grabbing the woman by the arm and pulling her forward, "this is Lenalee. She's our new doctor."

"It's nice to meet you," Miranda said shakily, extending her hand.

"You as well," answered Lenalee, returning the gesture.

"Miranda is our receptionist," explained Allen. "She's been working with us for about three months."

"It's the longest I've ever kept a job," Miranda said, laughing nervously. "Allen is the best employer I've ever had…he hasn't threatened to fire me once!"

"Well…there aren't exactly many people applying for this position…and you do a good job!" Allen said earnestly, although Lenalee somewhat questioned his sincerity. "We're going to go back and set up…will you be all right?"

Miranda nodded enthusiastically as Allen once again led Lenalee into the back of the clinic. He delegated various simple tasks to her; making sure the exam table had new exam paper, that all of the jars were properly filled with alcohol swabs and tongue depressors, and other small preparations for the day ahead.

At nine the clinic opened; however, before Lenalee could get too excited Allen quickly informed her that the morning was quite free from scheduled appointments. Disappointed and restless, she rummaged through the storage closet for some old rags and cleaning solutions and decided to tackle the many layers of dust occupying her office.

Not long after she'd started, the bell on the front door rang, swinging shut rather violently as someone entered. Curious (and hoping to have work to do that involved her medical training), Lenalee ran over to the reception.

"Oh my…someone, help!" Miranda yelled in a panic, running back into the hallway and nearly crashing into Lenalee on her way.

"What's going on?" Lenalee asked, her heart beating anxiously as she continued into the waiting room. She gasped; Lavi stood in the middle of the waiting room, his already pale skin a ghastly white. He was holding a completely limp young woman, her skin even paler than his own with an ashy blue hue clouding her dangling toes and fingertips. Her head fell back, revealing two deep puncture wounds surrounded by dried, sticky blood streaking down her skin and staining her shirt a deep wine color.

"I just found her like this in the parking lot when I got to work," Lavi explained, his voice trembling slightly. "She's not breathing."

Lenalee's stomach dropped; just by looking at the girl she could tell that there wasn't anything she or Allen could do. The wound on her neck looked dry and stagnant, devoid of any inflammation or other attempt at repair, and her skin lacked all color, suggesting that her heart had long since given up circulating blood throughout her body.

"…Bring her back here," she said as calmly as she could, leading Lavi back to the trauma room, where he gently laid the girl down on the table. Lenalee pressed her fingers into the girl's wrist, searching for a pulse. Her pale blue skin felt icy and still beneath Lenalee's fingertips, exactly as she'd expected.

_She feels just like him…_Lenalee sharply retracted her hand, remembering the moody stranger with the dark hair she'd met at the bar. _Impossible_, she thought, _I must have had too much to drink…_

"Lenalee," Allen said, nodding to the heart monitor he'd hooked the girl up to, now beeping steadily in alarm as it failed to pick up any readings.

"Time of death: 09:23," she sighed, switching off the monitor.

"That's it?" Lavi asked weakly as Allen and Lenalee covered the girl with a shroud. "You didn't even do anything!"

"She's been dead for a while," Lenalee replied, frowning as she pulled a pen out of her pocket and hastily scribbled a few things down in the chart. "Do you know who she was?"

Lavi shook his head. "I've never seen her before…and between Allen and me we've probably met everyone in this town."

Allen nodded. "She definitely wasn't from around here. I should put in a call to the police; maybe someone is looking for her." He walked out of the room, stopping briefly to calm a still frantic Miranda on his way.

Lavi walked over to Lenalee, briefly squeezing her shoulder before following Allen out the door. "Some first day."

---

The officer assigned to the girl now known as Jane Doe's case sat calmly in the waiting room of the clinic, his legs casually crossed as he balanced a clipboard on his knee to fill out a small packet of paperwork.

"What's the verdict?" he asked, standing up as Lenalee and Allen walked out of the trauma room, report in hand.

"It looks like she was attacked," Lenalee sighed, inviting him back to examine the body. "Although I'm not really trained in this area," she apologized, unprepared and mildly flustered at having been thrown into the role of medical examiner upon the policeman's arrival.

"This bruising on her arms is all defensive," Allen explained, pointing out the dark splotches of color on Jane Doe's otherwise ghastly skin.

"What about the neck wound?" asked the officer, frowning.

"They're pretty clean puncture wounds," said Lenalee. "Unfortunately they hit a major artery…she probably exsanguinated quickly."

"Exsanguinated?"

"Blood loss," Allen clarified. "A wound in that area must have caused her to lose a lot of blood…fast."

"Almost looks like a spider bite," mused the officer, tilting his head slightly. "Although that would have to be a big spider. Do you have any idea what could have caused this?"

Lenalee shook her head. "I'm sorry…I don't," she admitted. "But we've called our lab technician to come and run some tests. Hopefully that will tell us something about how she died…"

"Just do what you can," the officer assured her, nodding his head. "And let us know if the test results turn up anything interesting."

"Definitely," Lenalee responded as Allen escorted him out. She pulled her gloves off, making her way over to the sink for what seemed the hundredth time that hour, scrubbing her hands that had already begun to crack in the cold, dry weather. Suddenly conscious of someone watching her she slowly shifted her eyes to the side, gasping sharply as she noticed that someone _was_, in fact, staring at her as she finished her hand washing.

The culprit, a thin, Asian man who appeared about her brother's age, looked equally as stunned when Lenalee returned his gaze. He stepped backward, turning his head to the side and nervously removing a dark beret that sat at an angle over the blonde hair that fell into his narrow, gray eyes.

"C-can I help you?" stuttered Lenalee, reaching for a paper towel and drying her hands. _Oh god, that must be the lab technician,_ she thought, noting his starchy white lab coat.

The supposed lab tech's eyes widened. He pointed over to Jane Doe, the long finger extending past his sleeve beginning to take on the same red, splotchy character as the skin on his face and neck. "I'm just going to t-take some samples," he mumbled, darting to the opposite side of the room and clumsily collecting handfuls of vials.

"Are you all right?" asked Lenalee, walking over to where he stood and gently placing her hand on his back, causing him to drop all of his materials. His skin grew increasingly flushed and blotchy as he cleaned up the mess; it almost seemed as if he was having some sort of allergic reaction. "Are those…are those hives?!" gasped Lenalee, running over to search through the cabinets for medication.

"I'm _fine_!" assured the lab tech, hurriedly scurrying over to a different section of the room. "I just…I just need space when I work," he said, snapping on a pair of gloves.

Lenalee slowly shut the cabinet door and rolled a small stool near the exam table to the corner and sat, having to intention of leaving this man alone in his condition. "Is it all right if I just sit back here?" she asked gingerly.

The lab tech looked at her for a few seconds. "…Yes."

As the minutes passed his skin slowly returned to its normal pale color, much to Lenalee's relief. She contemplated striking a conversation with him, but decided against the idea; nervous it would provoke him to break out in hives again.

_What a strange guy,_ she thought to herself, biting her lip to keep herself from laughing at the whole situation. He certainly seemed much calmer than before as he stood collecting samples; the nervous, jumpy quality he displayed earlier replaced by a quiet seriousness. In anyone else his behavior would be, well, creepy, Lenalee mused, but somehow in this man it seemed almost endearing.

"Am I interrupting?" Allen knocked lightly on the door before entering.

"No," Lenalee answered a bit too quickly, standing up and smoothing the front of her scrubs. "I was just sitting with…um…"

"Bak," said the lab tech, glancing up as he labeled individual vials. "I'm Bak Chan…but you can call me Bak."

Lenalee smiled. "I'm-"

"I know who you are," Bak said a little too eagerly, promptly breaking out in hives once he'd realized the hastiness of his response.

"We'll just leave you to your work then," Allen said, grabbing Lenalee by the shoulders and leading her out.

"Will he be okay?" she whispered, to which Allen nodded. "It was nice to meet you!" she called on her way out the door, cringing at the crash of supplies that followed.

"He was…highly anticipating your arrival," Allen explained wearily.

"What?!"

"He's harmless, really," Allen assured Lenalee quickly, "just…"

"Eccentric," Lenalee finished the thought, now fully comprehending Allen's earlier choice of words.

"Exactly. I know this has been a hard day," he said, taking on a more solemn tone, "so if you'd like to have Miranda cancel the appointments you have scheduled for this afternoon…"

"No, I'll be all right," Lenalee replied. The last thing she needed was the day off with the image of Jane Doe in her mind. The work she had planned for the rest of the day would be a welcome distraction, for now.

---

"Look who's back," Lavi said with a smirk as Lenalee once again took a seat at the bar. After finishing work and realizing that she still had yet to do any grocery shopping she'd decided to spend the evening once again at the restaurant. Not that she minded; she welcomed the opportunity not to spend the night alone in her still unfamiliar and mostly unpacked apartment.

"You can't avoid that place forever," Lavi sighed as he poured her a glass of water. "Although I certainly wouldn't mind you coming here every night." Lenalee rolled her eyes. "You sure you don't want something stronger?" he asked.

Lenalee shook her head. "I need to give my liver a break…besides, last night I had _way_ too much."

"You had three glasses of wine!"

"Okay, remember that guy who was in here last night? The one with the hair?"

Lavi nodded. "Kanda. He comes here a lot."

"Right, well when I went to shake his hand I could have sworn he felt…strange. And cold…his skin was like ice!" Lenalee explained desperately. "Tell me that wasn't the three glasses of wine." Lavi shrugged. "…You said he comes here a lot?" asked Lenalee, eager to meet Kanda under more sober circumstances.

"Yeah, he comes here often enough," Lavi said, searching through his various cases of liquor for drink ingredients. "Usually right before I close…very annoying…it's like him and his friend just _know_." He glanced at her suspiciously from the corner of his eye. "…What's it to you?"

"Just curious," Lenalee said, shrugging. She honestly couldn't give him a reason even if she'd wanted; Kanda was just…intriguing.

"So how are you?" asked Lavi, leaning towards her after sending out his last drink. "It couldn't have been an easy day."

"I just hope they figure out what happened," Lenalee said, frowning. "Poor girl. It must have been awful for her…"

"Weird things have been happening around here lately," Lavi said, lowering his voice. "The people here won't talk about it much, but just an increase in the amount of robberies, vandalism…I keep trying to ask that Kanda if he's heard anything, since he doesn't seem to live in town, but he just gets all moody whenever I bring it up…"

"Want me to try?" Lenalee suggested, her interest piqued.

"Yeah," answered Lavi. "Maybe he'll talk to you. And maybe you'll get to the bottom of his crazy ice-skin," he teased.

Sure enough, not long before Lavi began closing the restaurant, Kanda and his friend Tyki walked through the door, assuming the exact same positions as the previous night.

"How's it going?" Lavi asked casually as Kanda sat down at the bar.

No response.

"Bad day?"

No response.

With a mischievous smile and a wink Lavi reached out to tap Kanda on the shoulder, causing him to spin around sharply and face his provoker. Lenalee raised her hand to her face, not sure whether to be amused or nervous by this turn of events.

"_What_?" snapped Kanda, holding his head just so the light cast rather ominous shadows over his narrowing eyes.

Before Lenalee could even make an attempt at damage control, Lavi's hand darted out across the bar and planted itself squarely on Kanda's forehead.

For a brief second both men froze; Kanda's eyes stretched open in shock before narrowing again as he swatted Lavi's arm away.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing?!" he demanded, scrambling to his feet and backing away.

"You're right, he is cold," Lavi whispered to Lenalee before shrugging innocently and turning his attention back to a drink that needed mixing. "I wanted to make sure you weren't sick, Yuu. I'm used to the verbal abuse, but you usually don't ignore me _completely_… "

"Mind your own damn business. We're leaving," Kanda said through gritted teeth, motioning for Tyki to follow.

"Won't you at least let me finish my game _once_ this week?" whined Tyki, lazily tossing the pool cue onto the table.

"Wait," Lenalee said, reaching her hand out and grabbing Kanda by the wrist before she had time to fully think through her actions. She gripped his arm tighter as he made the slightest attempt to pull away, startled to find the coolness in his skin able to reach her fingers through the thick fabric of his jacket. "…Stay," she finally said, taking advantage of his momentary pause. "He won't do it again."

Kanda sighed, his lip curling into a scowl. "Fine," he said, eyeing Lavi suspiciously and reclaiming his seat.

"So did you hear what happened today?" Lavi asked after giving Kanda a few moments to settle down.

"No."

Lavi nodded at Lenalee, encouraging her to take control of the conversation.

"W-well…Lavi found a girl in the parking lot this morning…she passed away, unfortunately…we were wondering if maybe you knew anything about any missing persons? Since Lavi says you're not from around here, and no one here seems to know who she was…"

Kanda turned to Lenalee, his expression having softened a bit. Tyki seemed equally interested, Lenalee noticed, his eyes now seeming to glance in her direction much more frequently from before.

"I haven't heard anything," he said. "…How did she die?"

"Blood loss…she had strange wounds in her neck; we think someone attacked her…"

Lavi reached into his pocket, pulling out a Polaroid and handing it to Kanda. "The police wanted me to show this around to see if anyone could identify her."

Kanda plucked the photo out of Lavi's hands, frowning as he examined it. After what seemed like an eternity he placed it down on the bar, closing his eyes and breathing deeply before standing up.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I don't know anything. Tyki," he said sharply, the harsh severity in his voice causing Lenalee's stomach to drop.

Tyki sighed, the playful amusement he displayed earlier giving way to his now dangerously cold, stony expression. Silently he followed, aggressively dropping the pool back on the table.

Lavi and Lenalee looked at each other before both darting to block the exit.

"You're lying," Lenalee said, trying her best to herd both men back to the bar. "You know something!"

"I don't!" Kanda hissed, trying to maneuver around her.

"Bullshit!" Lavi called, grabbing him by the upper arm and attempting to pull him back. "Someone _died_ today! And you're just blowing it off like it was nothing!"

With frightening effortlessness Kanda wrenched his arm away. "We're done here."

Lenalee still stood her ground, adrenaline overcoming any fear she might have experienced. "What do you know?" she demanded, her heart pounding as she refused to break eye contact.

"Nothing," repeated Kanda, exasperation evident in his voice. He reached out and grabbed her shoulders, moving her to the side with less force than Lenalee had expected.

"You're unbelievable," she spat, twisting free of his grasp.

"It's for your own good," he warned darkly, staring murderously at Tyki as he pushed open the door and left.

Lenalee ran out into the parking lot, frantically looking around as Lavi ran after her.

"…They're gone."


	3. And Allen Ends Up With A Broken Car

Thank you to all who reviewed and/or faved/subscribed!

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM, and I should mention again that I was in the midst of a True Blood obsession when I conceptualized this fic XD

* * *

"They just disappeared! How is that possib-"

"Lenalee, look," Lavi pointed to a dark corner of the parking lot where the two shadowy figures of Tyki and Kanda turned onto the road and began walking briskly away from the restaurant. "What do you want to do?"

Lenalee sighed. "It's not like there's anything we _can_ do, is there? I'm not about to chase them down."

"I don't know…I think I could take Tyki. Kanda I'm not so sure about…I wouldn't be surprised if he's hiding a knife in his hair or something," Lavi said with a grin as he turned back into the bar.

Lenalee ignored his comment and followed him inside, glancing briefly over her shoulder every few seconds. "Do you think they'll come back?" she asked.

Lavi shrugged. "I dunno…they've never _not_ been around. It's weird…especially because Kanda is always in such a hurry to leave. He never orders anything and as soon as Tyki finishes his game of pool he books it out the door. There's definitely something...off...about them."

"It just seemed like Kanda wanted us to know," Lenalee replied. "He wasn't exactly trying to hide it..."

"I don't know...Kanda may be pretty but from what I've seen he's not all that smart," Lavi laughed. "So who knows...maybe we'll see him tomorrow and you can get it out of him."

"Maybe." Lenalee rested her head against her hand, suddenly feeling the heaviness of the day tug her eyelids closed. "I should be going..." she began, eager to get a head start on her much needed sleep.

"Did you drive?" asked Lavi, glancing at his watch. "I can take you back if you want...I'll be closing soon."

"I drove Allen's car," she answered, shrugging her jacket on over her shoulders. "I'm parked right outside."

"I'll walk you," Lavi offered.

Lenalee shook her head. "You don't need to do that. It's not like I'm not going very far. You worry too much!"

"All right...well, at least call me when you get home," he said, smiling. "You do have my number, right?"

"Yes," Lenalee said, rolling her eyes. "I'll see you later..."

"Can I count on you for dinner again tomorrow?" Lavi asked.

"You know, I do have to buy groceries at some point..."

"Not necessarily. If you think about cost-effectiveness - "

"Goodnight, Lavi."

"Goodnight, Lenalee," Lavi said musically, watching her as she walked towards the door.

Lenalee waved, bracing herself as she stepped outside. The parking lot was much colder than she'd remembered it; now that the excitement from earlier had worn off she fully felt the consequences of not having a proper winter coat. She dug through her pocket for the car keys, a bit disappointed that the car was so much further back than she'd remembered it.

The silence making her somewhat nervous, Lenalee picked up her pace. Although she was no stranger to walking alone at night, never before had she been somewhere so...deserted. Back in San Francisco there was always a streetlight lit somewhere or a twenty-four hour gas station she could duck into should the need arise. But in Sacré there was...nothing. No lights, no people, save for Lavi's bar, which now seemed miles away.

Relieved, she reached Allen's car, fumbling with the keys as she used the light from her cell phone to unlock the door. She quickly climbed inside, locking the doors before starting the ignition.

"Hi there, Doctor."

Lenalee spun around, gasping sharply as a dark figure in the back seat stared back at her. She immediately recognized the amused, slightly bored voice as Tyki's.

"Remember me?"

"What do you want?" Lenalee asked, trying to distract him while she blindly attempted to dial Lavi's number in the crevice between her seat and the door.

"Well, first I'll take _that_," Tyki sighed, placing an icy hand on her shoulder as he reached over her body to pluck her phone from her fingers. "Now, drive," he instructed, leaning back in his chair.

"And if I don't?"

Tyki leaned forward, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I wouldn't suggest it."

Lenalee started the car, trying to breathe as evenly as she could while Tyki muttered directions next to her ear. She wanted to fight back, to do something, _anything _that would help to get her out of the situation, but in the presence of Tyki all the courage she felt disappeared. She didn't know what exactly about him it was; perhaps it was the danger in his voice, perhaps it was the way the air around them grew colder and thinner with passing moment, but Lenalee wasn't about to test that theory. Lavi was expecting her call; he'd surely investigate her disappearance.

_Disappearance_, she thought with a pang of fear. _That's what I'm going to become._

"How are you with off-road driving?" Tyki asked casually, as though he were speaking to an old friend.

"Not good," Lenalee whispered, hoping it was the answer he was looking for. It was no use lying, though; if he'd expected her to drive Allen's car through the woods she wouldn't get very far.

"That won't do at all," Tyki said in mock sadness. "Scoot over," he instructed, nodding to the passenger seat.

Lenalee wordlessly obeyed, stopping the car and climbing over. Tyki maneuvered himself into the driver's seat, releasing the brake and swerving off into the woods.

"...Where are you taking me?" asked Lenalee, morbidly curious as to what awaited her.

"That's not something for you to worry about," Tyki said simply.

For what seemed like hours Lenalee sat in silence, clenching her jaw together as Tyki turned sharply this way and that in order to avoid the various trees and rocks that littered the forest floor.

"We're almost th...wonderful," he sighed, slowing to a stop as they reached a small clearing.

Lenalee's eyes widened; someone walked slowly towards the car, bracing himself as if awaiting attack.

"Tch." Tyki revved the engine and stepped on the gas pedal, propelling the car forward. Lenalee screamed as they collided with the person in the clearing, coughing as she was thrust against the resistance of the seat belt.

"Damn," Tyki hissed, turning off the car and angrily kicking open the door before jumping outside. Lenalee didn't understand; he had to have known he was going to hit that person. Why did he seem so upset? "Stay in there," he ordered, the musical boredom in his voice completely absent. Lenalee strained her eyes and ears, trying to make sense of what in the world was going on.

"What...what the FUCK do you think you're doing?"

Lenalee's heart raced; she recognized that voice. Kanda picked himself up from the ground, immediately recognizable from the the shadow of his hair surrounding his pale skin.

"Stay out of the way," Tyki responded. "This is for our own good. She won't keep quiet."

"Maybe not now," snapped Kanda. "You aren't keeping control of your impulses."

"I would just hate for _that one_ to cause any problems for us," argued Tyki, the harshness in his voice somewhat giving way. "It's better to take care of it now."

"We would have been fine," Kanda spat. "_I'll_ take care of his now," he said. "Go back. None of this even would have happened if you hadn't been such a damn IDIOT in the first place. Get out of here."

"And let you have all the fun? I don't think so."

Before Lenalee could interpret the situation Tyki darted across the hood of the car, breaking the windshield with one sweeping movement of his hand.

"Sorry, Doctor," he said, his abnormally sharp teeth glinting as he grinned. Lenalee pressed herself back against the seat, trying frantically to unlock the door and jump out of the car.

"Che."

Before she could free herself, Kanda grabbed Tyki by the ankle, braced one foot against the bumper and hurled him backwards. He hit a nearby tree with a sickening "crack".

"That was for running me over," Kanda said as Tyki slowly stood up, breathing heavily. "Get lost," he ordered, deepening his scowl as he saw that Tyki had no intention of listening. "I am telling you to go," he said, delivering each word slowly and clearly.

His lip curling in anger, Tyki took a few steps backward before spinning around and sprinting away from the clearing.

Fumbling with the seat belt, Lenalee unfastened herself and tumbled out of the car.

"Get back inside," Kanda said simply, walking around to the drivers side and sliding into the seat.

"No," Lenalee said, slowly walking backwards. "You should be dead. You. Should. Be. Dead. And you barely even have a scratch," she said. "Why should I go anywhere with you? How the hell do you expect me to trust you after what just happened? I should be trying to get as far away from you as possib-"

"Lenalee," Kanda said, suddenly standing next to her. "Get in the car. I'm taking you home."

"O-okay." She believed him without much suspicion; although Kanda scowled in obvious irritation, she sensed neither danger nor dishonesty.

Lenalee pulled her knees into her chest as Kanda drove, trying to control her shivering as the wind assaulted her unprotected skin.

"Here." Kanda wriggled out of his jacket, tossing it over Lenalee's head. She hesitantly drew it over herself, not finding it's unnatural iciness to be much help.

"It's so cold," she said quietly. "Will you be all right?"

"It's fine."

Lenalee shook her head, thoroughly convinced that Kanda was not human. By all accounts he should have been seriously injured from the accident earlier, she told herself, but as she studied his body as he drove she could find nothing of the sort. No lacerations, no profuse bleeding, no crushed, mangled limbs, no altered mental status, nothing.

"What are you?" she finally asked, unable to avoid the subject any longer.

To no one's surprise, Kanda remained silent to her question.

Defeated, frustrated, and questioning her own sanity, Lenalee sank back into her seat, clenching her jaw and fighting back tears.

"You should call him," Kanda said after a few moments, pulling her miraculously undamaged phone out of his pocket. "I pulled it off of Tyki."

Lenalee snatched it out of his hands, finding a flurry of missed calls and voicemails flashing on the screen. She hastily searched for and dialed Lavi's number.

His frantic voice exploded into her ear. "Lenalee? Where have you been? Is everything okay?"

"Y...yeah, I guess," she said shakily, realizing that, although the car had not been so lucky, she'd made it out of this ordeal with her life, limbs, and all major body systems intact.

"What happened to you?" he demanded. "I was going to give it about three more seconds before calling the police...where are you?"

Lenalee closed her eyes, her composure threatening to collapse after hearing Lavi's concern through the phone.

"I'm on my way home," she assured him. "There was...an accident. I...I hit a tree," she lied, hoping it would explain the strange dent in the hood and the shattered windshield. She didn't know how long her story would hold up, but she knew enough not to disclose the full details of the night with Kanda sitting right next to her.

Lenalee looked over at him, his face calmly unreadable as he continued to drive. He appeared to be completely disinterested in her conversation and oblivious to the fact that she'd been glancing curiously in his direction for the duration of the car ride. Whatever his motives, whatever his strange, inhuman tendencies may be, she told herself, he did most likely save her life, and Lenalee had to admit that although all reason told her to run as far as she could in the other direction from him - he was stubborn, closed off, probably not human, and possibly involved in a homicide - she couldn't help but find herself drawn to the strange person sitting quietly next to her. Beneath everything that she saw on the surface telling her to back away, she could tell that there was a part of him that _did_ care about what happened to her.

"Were you hurt at all?" Lavi asked, pulling Lenalee from her thoughts.

"No...but the car has seen better days," she said, cringing. She couldn't imagine Allen being angry with her given the circumstances - real or fabricated - but she didn't think he'd be all too thrilled either.

"Don't worry about that," Lavi said. "Just make sure you get back safely. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No - someone's already...helped...me," she said slowly, realizing that she'd probably said too much. Kanda noticed it too; he exhaled sharply as the car rolled back onto the road.

"Who?" Lavi asked, confused. He paused briefly before continuing. "Don't tell me..."

"Yes," she said quickly. It would do her no good to lie; Lavi knew she hadn't made any other acquaintances in town and, seeing as he knew mostly all of the residents, he would immediately see through any other answers. "Kanda found me...he was walking on the road when I crashed," she explained. "He offered to help."

"Can you really trust that guy after tonight?" questioned Lavi, lowering his voice as if he anticipated Kanda's hearing him through the phone.

"It's fine," Lenalee said, with more conviction than she'd intended. "I promise."

Kanda glanced quickly at her, his scowl slightly lessening.

"As long as you're sure," Lavi sighed. "Let me know when you get back to your apartment. And Allen too," he added.

"Oh no," Lenalee groaned, "you didn't wake Allen up, did you?"

Kanda twitched uncomfortably at the mention of his name.

"What did you expect? I wanted to know whether or not he'd heard from you. Wouldn't you have wanted me to do the same if it had been him?"

"I suppose."

"All right, well...be safe, and don't crash into any more trees," Lavi warned.

"I'll try not to."

"DON'T FORGET TO CALL."

"I won't." Lenalee paused. "Thank you...I mean you don't even know me, and - "

"It's all right. There aren't a lot of people around here...we're supposed to look out for each other, you know?"

Lenalee smiled. "...All right. I'll talk to you later," she said, her ear burning as she lowered her phone; she'd been pressing it into her skin more violently than she'd realized.

"Listen," Kanda said rather quietly, as if forcing the words out, "I...apologize...for what happened to you. I'll make sure Tyki leaves you alone."

"Who is he to you? What is he...period? What are both of you? You never answered my question from before," Lenalee said, remembering the ease with which Tyki destroyed the thick panel of glass that was Allen's windshield.

"It's none of your business."

"It IS my business! Tyki almost tried to kill me tonight because I came too close to finding out what happened between you and that girl - "

"NOTHING happened between me and that girl!"

"And he runs you over with the car and you just stand up like it was nothing and then he breaks my windshield and then you threw him against a tree! How is it not my business?" Lenalee blurted out, spurred on by a sudden rush of adrenaline.

"Would you just shut up?" hissed Kanda.

"How DARE you speak to me that way after what just happened!"

"It would be best if you just forgot that this whole damn night ever happened."

"I don't even _know_ what happened," Lenalee said, tears once again springing into her eyes as she tried, and failed, to piece together all that had occurred. She huddled tightly under Kanda's jacket, as if hiding beneath it would make the whole situation better.

"I'm sorry," Kanda said again as the car stopped in front of the clinic. "I'll have the car fixed by morning...even if it is Allen's," he muttered.

"How do you know this is Allen's car?" Lenalee asked, peeking out from beneath the fabric.

"I've lived around here for a while. So has he. That's it." Kanda jumped out of the car, handing the keys to Lenalee as she shakily climbed out onto the ground.

"I guess I should thank you," she said.

"Just go," Kanda said, eyeing her as she made her way back to her apartment. "You have nothing to thank me for."

--

Lenalee threw herself down on her couch once inside, reaching into her pocket as she prepared call everyone she'd promised.

"Damn," she muttered, realizing that she had forgotten to give Kanda his jacket back. With a slight lurch of her stomach, she realized that she would probably have to meet him again to return it. She couldn't imagine him leaving it without so much as a word; the tailored, brown leather not only appeared well made but rather worn in - he'd obviously valued it enough not only to spend a respectable sum of money on it, but also to wear it often.

Aside from the lack of warmth on the fabric when Kanda had initially tossed it at her, all other aspects of the jacket were almost comforting in how _normal_ they were. The collar smelled faintly of modest hair product; not as distinct or heavy as the men she met in San Francisco, but uncomplicated and clean. Lenalee easily identified equally modest laundry detergent in the jacket's thick lining. It was simple, predictable, and completely uninteresting. However, given every other circumstance in which she had interacted with Kanda, it just added to her intrigue.

Yes, it would be an uphill battle to get any information out of him. Yes, it might be impossible for her every to find him again. And yes, it would most certainly not be in the best interest of her physical and mental well-being. However, whether it was the adrenaline slowly tapering into exhaustion or the lack of sleep affecting her brain, Lenalee decided that she would figure out who, and what, Kanda exactly was.

She didn't know if the prospect was more thrilling or terrifying.


	4. Just Take The Jacket

Thank you to all who reviewed/faved/subscribed! \o/

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Just Take The Jacket**

"Ouch!" Lenalee sharply retracted her finger, cringing as her already bright red nail bed stung with another onset of pain. She glared with dismay at the bubble that, despite a few moments of violent flicking, still clung desperately to the side of the syringe she had prepared. She grimaced as she readied her hand to strike once more.

"Want me to try?" Allen interjected before she could assault her finger further.

Lenalee sighed, nodding. "Please."

Allen took the syringe and gently tapped it against the counter a few times, effectively dislodging the bubble and enabling Allen to successfully expel it.

"How do you do that?" Lenalee asked, carefully replacing the needle and gathering a nearby chart.

"Practice," said Allen, smiling. "You'll get better."

"I hope so."

Lenalee backed out of the med room, scanning the hallway for Miranda before venturing further. A few collisions with the less than graceful woman had taught her that one could never be too cautious.

"Good afternoon, Ms. DeWith," Lenalee said as she entered the exam room, greeting the elderly woman sitting quietly on the table. "Are you ready for your flu shot?"

"I suppose...I never did get used to needles," she answered, keeping her eyes glued to the needle in question as Lenalee washed her hands.

"I'm sorry, I'll try to make this quick for you." Lenalee pulled a pair of gloves over her hands once they dried, rolling up Ms. DeWith's shirtsleeve and preparing her skin with an alcohol swab. She uncapped the needle, quickly glancing over at her patient before proceeding.

Ms. DeWith sat rigidly straight; her eyes squeezed shut as she wrung her hands in her lap. With a pang of guilt Lenalee hesitated; what right did she have to fuel the fear in others? Her stomach dropped as she remembered the events of ten days ago. She of all people should understand what it meant to be frightened.

Ms. DeWith peeked out through one eye. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no," Lenalee said, taking a deep breath. _I'm doing a good thing_, she told herself._ This is completely different...I'm not kidnapping anyone or running people over or breaking any windshields_. Ms. DeWith knew what she was doing - she obviously valued an illness-free winter enough to put herself through a few seconds of discomfort. Lenalee had an obligation to finish this quickly.

In one not so fluid motion she gave the injection, her heart pounding as if giving a shot for the first time. "Done," she said, perhaps more relieved than the patient as she applied a band-aid to the site.

"Thank you, dear," said Ms. DeWith, gathering her purse and heading for the door, patting Lenalee gently on the shoulder on her way out. "You're doing just fine."

"Eh...yes, thanks," Lenalee said, awkwardly hiding behind some papers in an attempt to shield her glowing red face from view. She ducked out of the exam room, catching up to Allen as passed in the hallway.

"Sorry to bother you," she apologized, "but do you think you can take over flu shots for the day?"

Allen glanced back at her, raising an eyebrow. "Of course, but didn't you say you wanted the experience?"

"I did," she repeated slowly, regretting not coming up with an excuse before approaching him. "I just have a lot of paperwork to catch up to...with all the recent things we've had going on lately...you know, the holidays, lots of accidents, viruses going around..."

"Uh-huh...well, yeah, I mean I guess - "

"Thank you so much," said Lenalee, cutting him off before he could finish and darting off into her office.

"Lenalee, wait," called Allen, running up beside her. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes! I'm fine," she assured him, slightly regretting the lie. Although part of her would have liked to take Allen up on his kindness, she reminded herself that while he had nothing but good intentions, he was rather incapable of listening without taking on her burdens. Normally she would fight him until he backed down, but at this particular moment in time Lenalee found herself too mentally exhausted to do so.

She managed to successfully barricade herself in her office during her down time. Ironically, her fabricated reason not to give flu shots was a more valid excuse than she'd thought. Her spirits somewhat lifted after seeing the stack of completed charts at the end of the day, she gathered her things together and walked upstairs to her apartment.

"I have no food…" she muttered after a few moments of scanning the contents of her barren refrigerator and finding nothing she could pass off as a substantial meal. "I guess I'll have to go to the store…"

Lenalee grabbed her jacket and ventured out to the town's one grocery/liquor/convenience store, luckily open late into the evening and located just across the street and a few buildings down from the clinic. Although it still made her slightly jumpy to walk the short distance alone she fought the urge to invite Allen along (or go hungry for the night), hoping that with enough consecutive uneventful days she would be able to move past her experience with Tyki.

For what seemed like the millionth time she rationalized her decision not to press charges, still unsure about whether or not she made the right choice. But what did she even have to tell them? That her windshield – which had indeed been mysteriously repaired by Kanda, a feat she still didn't understand – was broken by someone simply sweeping his hand across it? And that her savior stood up after being hit – hard – by a large SUV like nothing had even happened? The police would surely think she was hallucinating. Hell, _she_ even thought she was hallucinating. The adrenaline had obviously caused her memory to exaggerate every detail of the ordeal. There was no other explanation.

This brought her to the same conclusion she'd reached numerous times before – that she really wasn't sure what exactly happened that night and therefore had nothing of substance to actually tell law enforcement authorities.

By the time Lenalee had finished contemplating her dilemma she found herself walking through the entrance to the convenience store, squinting at the bright lights reflecting off the white linoleum floor. She grabbed one of the baskets stacked lazily near the automatic doors, digging her shopping list out of her pocket and setting off to weave through the aisles. After adequately replenishing her food stock she ventured towards the home improvement section, hoping to pick up some household cleaners and other things she had neglected during her previous shopping trips.

_Oh god._

She gasped, quickly ducking behind a stack of Lysol spray cans as she noticed Kanda's long hair, still tied neatly into its high ponytail, flicking behind him as he sighed impatiently and (rather violently) tossed a pack of light bulbs into his basket.

_Damn it. Damn it all. Damn. It. All,_ Lenalee thought to herself. She didn't know what she was thinking that night after Kanda drove her home, vowing to "figure him out". She couldn't even be sure there _was_ anything to figure out about him. Within a few days she had adopted a new resolve: Kanda was a person to be vehemently avoided. If Lenalee was ever to move on with her life and put recent events behind her, it was what needed to be done. Even though a small voice in the very back of her mind wished things could have turned out differently, it was easily obliterated.

She watched him as he spat insults at the pack of light bulbs, now chipped from their abrupt arrival to the bottom of his basket, and waited for him to clear out of the aisle before moving from the safety of her pillar of solvents.

"Shit! His jacket…" she hissed, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. Kanda's jacket still hung on the hook near the door of her apartment, a constant reminder that it needed to be returned. _I could just throw it in the back of my closet…_she mused, but quickly vetoed the idea, realizing that one day she would inevitably find it and it would inevitably bring about a flood of memories she did not care to revisit. _Or I could donate it…_but this too she deemed unacceptable. Lenalee remembered her somewhat warm feelings upon first examining the jacket; it was obviously an item of at least moderate importance. And Kanda had, although perhaps not as dramatically as she remembered, saved her life. She at least owed him that.

Her legs shaking slightly, Lenalee turned the corner, glued to the Lysol display as she entered the dishearteningly open aisle. Her shoulder lightly brushed against a can, knocking it to the floor with a loud _clang_.

"Oh no…" she chased after it as it rolled, her face burning as she attracted attention from other shoppers. Finally managing to trap it beneath her shoe she picked it up, straightening herself out only to find Kanda staring back at her. His eyes opened wide, pushing his eyebrows far enough up his forehead to be completely hidden by his choppy bangs. His lip curled into the same half horrified, half disgusted look Lenalee had seen him sport on more than a few occasions. Both parties stood frozen for a few long seconds before Kanda, jaw clenched, dropped his basket, whirling around and bolting for the door as it smacked against the floor.

"Wait!" Lenalee ran after him, mildly put off by his behavior. "Don't you want your jacket back?" she called, satisfied as Kanda came to a halt and slowly reeled his head around to face her.

"My what?"

"Your jacket. You left it with me when…well if you don't take it I'll just get rid of it."

Kanda glared at her, oblivious to the small crowd of people now conveniently shopping around them.

"Do you want it or not?" Lenalee said, growing irritated by his silence.

Kanda scowled. "Just give me my damn jacket."

"Well I don't have it _with me_," Lenalee snapped. "You'd have to follow me back to my apartment."

"I'll pass," Kanda said a little too quickly, once again turning for the door.

"I'm going to throw it out then," Lenalee said, offering him one last chance to reclaim it.

"…Fine," he sighed, keeping his back turned as he spoke to her. "Let's make this quick."

--

The short walk back to Lenalee's apartment could only be described as some of the most awkward moments she had ever experienced (or recalled experiencing). She walked with Kanda in complete silence; the entire time debating over whether an attempt to make small talk would make the situation better or worse.

"…Um," she finally choked out, clearing her throat as she spoke. "Thank you for fixing the car."

Somewhat to Lenalee's surprise, Kanda did not ignore her. "I told you not to thank me."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize, either!"

Lenalee rolled her eyes, exasperated, but was pleased to find that she had at last reached the door leading up to her apartment.

"It's getting cold out," she noted, her fingers stinging as she grabbed the doorknob. She took a step inside, carefully avoiding the hose at the bottom of the bottom of the staircase that had become uncoiled; probably neglected by Allen in the morning after he'd taken it outside to water the few living flowers in a modest flower box kept outside the door to the clinic. However, one of the loops of the hose caught itself around her ankle, trapping her as she tried to move forward. Lenalee stepped back to free herself but failed; the tangled mess of rubber on the ground slid underneath her shoe and caused her to tumble backwards.

"Oh…!" she cried out in surprise, bracing herself to hit the ground. However, she found herself suspended a few feet over the floor, hoisted up by Kanda hooking his arms under her shoulders.

"Pay attention to where you walk," he ordered, although there was not quite as much irritation in his voice as Lenalee had anticipated.

"Y-yeah," she said, grabbing his wrist to steady herself as she pushed upright.

"OW! God _damn_!" Kanda suddenly hissed, wrenching his left arm from Lenalee's grasp. Lenalee instinctively turned and clung to the other side of him, pulling herself up by his arm until she rose to her feet. He didn't seem to care; however, he was much more interested in cursing at the inflamed burn mark on his skin right where Lenalee's fingers had been.

"What happened?" she asked, reaching for his arm. "Can I see?"

"I'll be fine," he snapped, tugging the cuff of his shirtsleeve over the burn. He glanced quickly over at Lenalee's hand, scowling.

"What – is something wrong with my hand?" she asked, examining her fingers. They looked perfectly fine to her – a little red from the cold, but otherwise normal. "Are you allergic to silver or something?" she asked, half joking, noticing the ring she wore on her index finger.

"It's none of your business!"

"Will you at least let me see it?"

"Tch." Kanda flung his hand out in front of her nose. Lenalee squinted and inspected the burn, careful to keep her ringed finger out of the way.

"It looks like it's already healing," she said, noticing that the inflamed red mark from earlier had significantly shrunk in size. "How strange…"

"Satisfied? I told you I'd be fine," he muttered.

Lenalee continued up the stairs, growing more and more uneasy with each step. Even if he was allergic to the metal in her ring, which, while unlikely, was possible, it made little sense for the reaction to present itself in the form of a burn. Itching – yes, a rash – yes, but a burn? And, even if there was some sort of scientific explanation for his symptoms, she couldn't imagine _how_ they could resolve so quickly.

_Maybe I wasn't just imagining things that night_, she thought to herself, a slight nausea rising in her stomach. She knew that it was impossible for anyone to walk away unscathed after being hit so violently by a car, yet she couldn't ignore the miniscule amount of doubt that had now registered itself in her mind. She had to ask.

"Kanda," she said slowly, picking her words with caution, "about…that night…" she turned to him before unlocking her door. "You're going to think I'm crazy…but I could have sworn that…that _he_ hit you with the car. Hard. And you just stood up like it didn't even happen. Please…please tell me I'm just imagining things? That I wasn't thinking straight?"

Kanda stared at her, lip curling. "Believe whatever you want to. It makes no difference to me."

"That isn't what I was asking! This is a yes or no answer!"

He sighed, glancing off to the side and bringing his hand up to scratch the back of his head. "…You were imagining things," he muttered.

"You…you are a _horrible_ liar!" Lenalee yelled, throwing her hand over her mouth and taking a few steps back.

"Stop being so damn dramatic!" Kanda hissed, gesturing for Lenalee to unlock the door.

Hands shaking, she turned the key in the lock. "So what are you, a ghost? A demon?" She stared down at her fumbling fingers, her ring glinting in the dim light of the hallway. "Oh god…!" Everything suddenly made sense – well, as much sense as Lenalee could possibly make of the situation. His cold skin, strange ability to heal, aversion to the silver in her ring, the fact that she only saw him after dark, the puncture wounds in that girl…

She gasped sharply. "You killed –"

Kanda pressed a hand over her mouth, turning the doorknob and gently pushing her inside.

"I did _not_ kill that girl," he said, releasing Lenalee and closing the door behind him.

"Then it was _him_! Don't even _try_ to lie to me," Lenalee snapped, pacing around her kitchen. "I have to tell the police…I have to tell them," she muttered.

"You will _not_ tell them," Kanda said, blocking the progression of her pacing. "This is something we'll deal with. It is none of your concern."

"None of _our_ concern," Lenalee muttered, laughing nervously. "You mean – what, humans?"

Kanda said nothing.

"This isn't real," she continued, sitting down at her table and placing her head in her hands. "I'm just imagining things…Tyki didn't hit you very hard with the car…he had a rock in his hand, that's how he broke my windshield…"

"If you would calm down for a minute I could explain things to you!"

Lenalee ignored him.

"Fine! Cry into your dinner table all night. It doesn't matter to me," Kanda spat, heading for the door. "You wouldn't listen to anything I said right now anyway. I'll come back tomorrow and set you straight. "

"Oh? You're going to kill me?"

Kanda glared at her, his eyebrow twitching. "Did I _say_ I was going to kill you?" He spun around and opened the door. "Just do yourself a favor and don't go running to that damn bartender about this," he muttered.

"It's not like he would believe me anyway," Lenalee said, her voice straining. "Don't forget your jacket."

"I'll pick it up later," Kanda answered, pausing before he continued. "_Don't_ take this the wrong way or anything," he said sharply, "but I'm…sorry…that you had to get mixed up in this."

"Just go," Lenalee whispered.

Kanda obliged, letting the door swing shut behind him.

Hands and face numb, Lenalee sat frozen at the table, shattered.


	5. The Best Medicine Is Spelled WINE

A/N: I realize that Lenalee is kinda OOC. My interpretation of her in a different environment/time period was a bit off. ;_; I'm working on it best I can, but I dug myself a bit of a hole with the plot being what it is.

Thank you everyone who's reviewed and all that good stuff, and sorry it took me so long to update ^^"

* * *

Seven o'clock could not come soon enough.

Lenalee didn't remember how or when she left the dinner table and crawled into bed. It must have been sometime between when she could stand without her knees collapsing from under her and when she finally regained the ability to breathe normally. She didn't remember when the bright red numbers on her clock changed from 10:57 to 3:02, or when she sent Lavi a cryptic text message demanding he treat her to large quantities of alcohol, or when she silenced her phone and stuffed it in her bedside drawer after she was fed up from that red light flickering every time he sent her a response.

She grabbed her headphones, turning up the volume on her iPod loudly enough that every stray noise in her building didn't send her into a frenzied panic over whether or not there was a mythical, bloodthirsty man with stupidly pretty hair hiding in a dark corner waiting for her to drop her guard. She squeezed her eyes together, willing sleep to free her from what she could only imagine was some sort of nervous breakdown. Sleep never came.

Tomorrow (or, today, in approximately four and a half hours,) she would tell Allen. She would tell him everything; about Kanda, and Tyki, and the silver, and - it seemed ridiculous to even think it - the vampire. And he would think she was hallucinating and recommend she write herself a prescription for an anti-psychotic. It was perfect - he was kind, and giving, and trustworthy, and bound by law to keep his mouth shut about her medical issues. She refused to believe that there was any truth to what Kanda was saying, and Allen would surely agree. She groaned and mentally scolded herself for even having entertained the notion.

When her alarm finally went off she stumbled from one thing to another, her anxiety over the impending conversation with Allen growing with each minute. Would he recommend that the agency send her home? Would he tell them that she couldn't handle the isolation of a small town after living for so long in a big city? And what then? Even if she was forced to return home there was nothing left for her there. It would be nearly impossible to find another job with this incident mucking up her resumé.

Too nervous to eat, and having sped through all of her usual morning activities, Lenalee ventured over to her couch in hopes that the TV would offer some distraction.

And there it was, tainting her lovely white couch like a giant brown ink stain. The jacket.

"Oh NO!"

She picked it up and violently threw it at the wall, sinking into the sofa and sifting through the cushions for her remote. She ran through her small selection of news channels a few times, finally settling down on one of the morning program's cooking segments. Cooking could never be depressing or frightening or confusing. It proved to calm her mind enough for the twenty minutes she had to spare that she didn't make herself anymore crazy than she already had. She even found that it inspired her to eat half a bowl of cereal.

Once the time came to go to the clinic Lenalee dragged herself downstairs, her stomach giving a lurch as she noticed the haphazard hose snaking around on the floor. If someone had taken the time to roll it up properly or if she managed to avoid tripping over it last night none of this would have happened, she thought. Kanda wouldn't have been burned by her ring. Her morbid curiosity wouldn't have gotten the better of her and she wouldn't have brought up that night with Tyki. She would have returned him his jacket and he would have left, hopefully never to be seen again.

If only.

As usual, the unlocked front door let Lenalee know that Allen was already in the clinic. No Miranda yet though, she noted. Good. It would be easier for her to talk to him if she didn't have to worry about other people bursting in. Admitting her bout of crazy to one person was going to be painful enough.

Allen was puttering around the empty exam room, rolling a clean sheet of paper over the exam table. "Good morning," he said casually, greeting her with his usual carefree smile.

"Good morning, Allen," Lenalee replied, walking inside and gently closing the door behind her. "Listen," she began, hardly able to control the quiver in her voice as she leaned against the counter. "There's something I have to talk to you about."

"What's wrong?" asked Allen, hopping up onto the exam table and cringing a little when he realized he would now have to replace the paper again.

"I think…I _know_ there's something wrong with me," she said, eyes brimming with tears. Hearing herself speak it out loud added an entirely new dimension to the situation. "I've been having hallucinations and - and hearing things that aren't real, and now I can't sleep," she explained miserably, plucking a few tissues from the stack behind her and sweeping them across her cheeks.

"Sit down," Allen directed, leading her by the shoulders to the chairs meant for family members. He took the one opposite to her and covered her hand with his own. "Tell me about what's been happening."

"I don't even know where to begin," said Lenalee. She told him about the argument her and Lavi had with Tyki and Kanda in the bar, the incident (or incidents) that followed in the forest, and finally the events of the previous night.

Allen glared back at her, his already pale skin devoid of any lingering color. She expected him to look concerned; frightened, even, but…angry?

"S-say something," she prompted, almost begging.

"…Kanda drove my car? _And_ broke the windshield?" he said after a long moment.

"No, actually Tyki broke your windshield, Kanda fixed it…wait, _that_'_s _what you're concerned about?" Lenalee jerked her hand back, bolting out of her chair. "After everything I just told you, _that's_ what you need clarified? Allen, are you KIDDING me? I never should have told you any of this," she lamented, pacing around the small room. "Just forget this ever-"

"Lenalee, wait! It's not what you think," Allen said, jumping up to meet her. "What you saw was…it was real," he said, shrugging sheepishly.

Now it was Lenalee's turn to glare. "Shut the fuck up," she said sharply, mentally noting that she would have to apologize for her bad language later.

"Let me explain," pleaded Allen, dragging her back to her chair. It took Lenalee all of the energy she had left, which wasn't much, to keep herself from fainting. "Remember how I told you the doctor here before you, Dr. Delaney, just vanished with no warning?"

Lenalee nodded slowly.

"Right, well…the night before that, Kanda came up to our apartments with Tyki slung over his shoulder. Tyki was in a bad way…he'd lost a lot of blood and had some bad internal injuries. Kanda told me he'd accidentally run him over in his car."

Lenalee laughed grimly to herself. Oh, the irony.

Allen, oblivious, continued. "Kanda asked us if we could save him. We tried, but…we didn't have the resources to treat him here, and he wouldn't survive a transfer. So Kanda told us he was sorry, and that there wasn't any time left, and he…well, he bit Tyki. Then he bit his own wrist and poured some of the blood into the wound. He threw Tyki back over his shoulder and said, 'If either of you go to the police I'll fucking rip your throats out'. The next morning Dr. Delaney was gone."

"Oh my god…oh my god," whispered Lenalee, her hands clinging to the sides of her chair in an attempt to hold herself upright. On the one hand, at least she wasn't crazy. On the other, however…there were two vampires living in close proximity to her apartment. And one of them wanted her dead.

"Take the day off," Allen said quietly. "I'll tell Miranda to cancel your appointments because you came down with the flu." He stood up and helped her out of the chair, pulling her into a tight hug. "Don't worry about Tyki anymore. Kanda may be stupid, arrogant, and stubborn; but if he told you not to worry about Tyki I wouldn't. At least not too much," he added with a smile. "But keep mine and Lavi's numbers on speed dial just in case."

"Does Lavi know about this?" Lenalee asked, suddenly curious. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably again. Of all the people she'd met so far, he was the one she least expected to have kept this from her. It hurt to think about it.

To her relief, Allen shook his head. "Not that I know of. Now go home and get some sleep."

Lenalee was only too happy to oblige.

—

At six in the evening Lenalee woke up, thoroughly confused by the inky sky outside her window and the numbers on her clock. It wasn't until she noticed the red dot illuminated next to "PM" that she remembered the conversation she'd had with Allen earlier and the promise she'd gotten from Kanda the previous night about returning to pick up his jacket and "setting her straight". She didn't particularly feel like seeing him, though, and she didn't expect he would tell her anything she hadn't already heard from Allen. Besides, she didn't really want to know too much more.

She dragged herself out of bed and got dressed, figuring that while Kanda's visit was inevitable she could do her best to dull the impact with a few drinks in the meantime. With a pang she remembered to check her phone, still buried in her drawer after it's violent dismissal from her line of vision the previous night. Of course the screen was full of missed call, voice, and text message notifications. It was a surprise Lavi hadn't tried to bang her door down, Lenalee mused, although in his defense some of the messages were from patients wishing her a speedy recovery from the "flu". Allen even left her a very sweet voicemail apologizing again for having to deliver her such upsetting news and telling her that he'd understand if she wanted to take tomorrow off as well.

Almost as if he knew she was standing there to answer it Lenalee's phone began to buzz, Lavi's number lighting up the screen.

"Hello?" she said, trying to sound like someone who didn't just sleep off the strangest news she'd ever heard in her life.

"Hello yourself," replied Lavi, a slight amusement to his voice. Lenalee hadn't anticipated the relief she felt upon hearing it. "The flu, huh?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"I think you're bullshitting me, Dr. Lee. And I think you need to get your ass down here and explain to me what gave you the desire to text me at two AM this morning."

"I'm sorry, Lavi…maybe tomorrow."

"Too late. I've already uncorked a bottle of that wine you like," he said.

Lenalee smiled - really smiled - for the first time that day. "Believe me, I want to. But I've got the flu, remember? Drinking at a bar on a weekday is not something you'd expect to see your doctor with the flu doing."

"All right," Lavi sighed, "but you owe me. With interest."

"I got it. Thanks for calling."

"Anytime."

Lenalee hung up, sorry to end the conversation but definitely favoring ending it now over being interrupted by Kanda (whom she had no idea when to expect) later. She flipped on the television and threw a frozen dinner in the microwave, wondering how many glasses of her own wine she could get through before Kanda arrived. It didn't make sense for her to be so nervous, she thought to herself. When all was said and done he'd never been anything but helpful, even if his efforts proved to be more trouble than they were worth. He must be at least somewhat of a decent person, seeing as how he'd gone through so much trouble to save Tyki, someone he presumably didn't even know, on the night that Allen had told her about.

Of course, it was entirely possible that Allen didn't know the whole story. Or that Kanda wasn't telling the truth. Or some combination of the two.

All Lenalee knew for sure was that she definitely needed more wine. She nervously sipped away for an hour or so until she moved to refill her glass and found that there was no more to be had. With the remainder of her good judgement still intact, she stood up to fetch herself a glass of water only to see Kanda standing stiffly in her kitchen.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, bracing the corner of her couch for support. Under normal circumstances she would have reacted in a number of different ways: scream, run for the door, attack him with the empty wine bottle, but in this moment all she did was laugh. "I was expecting you," she said pointedly, stumbling across the floor. The action of standing up combined with the shock from seeing an intruder in her house served only to enhance the effects of the alcohol. "I don't even want to know how you got in. Let's get this over with." Lenalee swept her hand grandly toward the kitchen table and plunked down on one of the chairs.

"…You're drunk," Kanda stated, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms. His nicely toned arms, Lenalee noted approvingly. He was hardly suited for the bitter night air in plain dark jeans and a brown t-shirt with far too many words for her to care to read. "I can't talk to you like this."

"Allen already told me everything," Lenalee said, holding her head in her hands. The room was spinning far too much for her comfort. She was not normally a big drinker, and the small amount of food in her stomach paired with her slight stature certainly didn't help matters.

"_Allen_ has no idea what the fuck he's talking about," spat Kanda, sifting through her cabinets for an empty glass. He filled it up with water and placed it down in front of her. "Drink," he ordered.

"What are _you_ talking about? You're the one that told Allen everything he knows about…you know. Stuff."

"That has very little to do with what you need to hear. I don't want you running around telling people that Tyki killed that girl you found a couple weeks ago. You'll get yourself killed. Now get sober so you won't forget it the moment I tell you how to stay alive."

"I don't get you," said Lenalee, looking at the man sitting across from her. "Shouldn't you be living in some big city somewhere? Somewhere people won't ask questions or even look at you twice? What do you want with this town?"

"If you hadn't gotten drunk off your ass you'd already know," Kanda replied, getting up to refill her glass. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Stop telling me that! It's your fault I'm even having to ask! You were the one who pulled me into this." Lenalee was out of her chair, trapping Kanda where two branches of her counter met to form a corner. She placed one hand on either side to brace herself. "Everything you've done-"

He glared at her, jaw set in a hard line. "Everything I've done has been to keep you safe. If you want to blame me that's your own damn problem. You would have died if I left you alone."

_I would have died_. Lenalee had told herself the same thing over and over again in her attempts to justify not shutting Kanda out of her life completely. But hearing it out loud, from the mouth of another person, brought her to her knees. She crumpled onto the floor, the walls spinning furiously around her. A pair of hands firmly held onto her arms.

"Come on," Kanda said, slowly pulling her up. His hands remained as they were for a few seconds once she'd climbed back to her feet, making sure she wouldn't sink back onto the ground.

In an act Lenalee would later convince herself was spurred solely by alcohol and adrenaline, she brushed her thumb across his cheek and leaned in to kiss him.

And, although briefly, he let her.

His hand floated down from her shoulder. She shuddered as his cool fingers brushed against the bare skin between her shirt and sweatpants, lingering for a few seconds before cupping her hip and gently moving her away.

—

The next thing Lenalee remembered was furiously scrambling off her couch, fiercely woken by a violent wave of nausea. She barely made it into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her before paying her respects to the porcelain deity. Her - a doctor! - she thought bitterly. She of all people should know how prevent this from happening.

Flashes of the evening played in her mind. Kanda had definitely been there, and they had argued, and she briefly recalled being on the floor.

Well, that certainly wasn't helpful.

After her stomach had seemingly finished emptying itself Lenalee brushed her teeth a few times and set out to return to bed. She opened the door and jumped, an action that nearly sent her back into the throws of illness. Kanda's silhouette floated towards her from her kitchen.

"You done?" he asked, making no effort to hide his contempt. Lenalee nodded, not feeling well enough to argue.

"What time is it?" she asked, lowering herself onto the couch and wondering how long she had to recover before work tomorrow. A blanket dropped messily over her shoulders and a glass of water was thrust into her hands.

"About ten."

The cushions shifted lightly as Kanda sat down at the farthest possible end of the couch, keeping his face directed forward while he spoke. "Listen well, because I'm only going to say this once."

"Okay."

"Allen already explained some of it to you. I made Tyki…like myself…a little while ago after an…accident."

_Terrible liar_, Lenalee reminded herself.

"Those of us that have just been created have bad impulse control. They don't know how to control themselves."

She shivered.

"Had I not been responsible for Tyki there's no way I would stay in this fucking backwater town. But raising a new vampire in a big city with a lot of people would be hell. Besides, this place has certain…resources…for us. Don't ask me what they are," Kanda said quickly. "Even so," he continued through gritted teeth, "he still caused some problems."

"Will you leave, then?"

Kanda shook his head. "The Viceroy of this area prohibits the assault of unwilling humans. Once he got word of what had happened Tyki was called in to stand trial," he said bitterly. "In a few months."

"And what will he do until then? Keep attacking people and trying to kill me?"

"No," Kanda said sharply, his eyes flashing in her direction for a split second. "The Viceroy's people have him in their possession. And you…will be protected," he mumbled.

"I'll be _protected_?" Lenalee began to feel dizzy again, and she didn't think it was the remaining alcohol. What on Earth had she gotten herself into? "What about Lavi? And Allen? They saw that girl too on the day that she died! And Allen…he must have known it was you," she added, a little disappointed that he had hid it from her at the time (or at least acted ignorant).

"Just worry about yourself. They'll be fine." Kanda fidgeted a little in his seat, crossing and uncrossing his legs a few times before settling down.

"There's something you're not telling me," Lenalee said carefully, remembering his nervous maneuvers the other times she'd caught him in a lie. "Why would I need to be looked after if Tyki was taken away?"

"That's not something-"

"LISTEN to me!" snapped Lenalee, far too irritated and nauseous to play this game. Kanda sat up straight, his head finally turning to face her. His perpetual scowl fled for a few seconds in favor of a look of utter bewilderment; he was obviously not used to being spoken to this way. "You can't just tell me all this - that my life is in danger, that I need someone to protect me, that my _friends_ need someone to protect _them_ - and expect me to sit back and hear it quietly! What do you take me for?"

"Someone smart enough to _stay alive _and not ask the wrong questions," Kanda said coldly.

Lenalee sighed. She knew she wouldn't win this, at least not in her current state. She decided to change the subject.

"So who will be 'protecting' me?"

Kanda said nothing.

"Is it you?"

Still nothing.

"I'll take that as a yes." She felt him roll his eyes. "Where will you be - staked out in the bushes?"

More silence.

"Perfect." Now Lenalee would have to go to sleep every night with the knowledge that Kanda was hiding out in the shrubbery protecting her from some unseen evil. She looked over as he glared at the air in front of him. He didn't seem to like the idea any better. Even vampires probably found hours of standing around outside unappealing. "You know," she said, testing the limits of her better judgement, "if you ever get bored out there, and it's before, say, midnight, you can come visit me. I'll make you…something." What did vampires eat, anyway?

After a long moment Kanda finally spoke. "Aren't you afraid?"

"Yes." Lenalee leaned against the back of the cushion. "But I think you're more than some monster to be scared of."

Kanda stood up, taking his jacket in one hand before heading to the door. "You're wrong," he said. "Don't forget to lock the door."

And with that, he was gone.

Lenalee fastened all of her locks and trudged back to her room, wondering why in the world she'd extended Kanda a nightly invitation into her home. She meant what she'd said to him before he left, but that was hardly reason for her actions. What exactly did she see in him?

And then, she remembered. She remembered the way her skin shivered under his fingertips. She remembered standing so close - too close - to him in the kitchen. She remembered…

Oh, crap.


End file.
